AMERICAN FORK & ONWARD TO COLORADO

     In an effort to conserve gas we combined one more adventure with my High School Reunion/Baby Blessing trip.   We had promised our friends the Bryants that we would come see them in Colorado since they have been the ones who usually come see us on their many trips to one of their former homes, Las Vegas.     Our last visit there was when the kids were in their pre-teen years.  We enjoyed it immensely and looked forward to the green, the Rockies and some cooler temperatures.

     Spent the pre-Colorado travel night with Steve and Laurie Sowby, some Chilean Sr. missionaries who have recently returned from yet another CES type mission to Washington D.C.   Hadn't seen them for a long time so it was wonderful catching up - even for a brief visit.  We got to see their new house that is being built - a true Grandchild's dream!  The upper floor is an open play room/dance studio/ theater (complete with a movable mini-stage).  Two alcoves that use the space of the dormer windows are designated for 1) art & art appreciation  and 2) sewing/quilting.    They showed us "our" room in the basement.  (We stay with them a lot on our Wasatch Front journeys)!  Laurie is a journalist and is now doing a book-review column for the Nauvoo Times.  In fact she just reviewed a book written by another of our Chilean Missionaries, Randy Ayre.  The book is about surviving the death of a spouse and moving forward.  He has both an LDS version and a non-LDS version.  I want to get one of them.  Sounds like some information that can help a lot of people.
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At the top of a 12,000 foot summit as a downpour finished we rounded a bend and this was our view.  Colorado never disappoints.  This trip was already living up to its promises.

Bryants are the perfect hosts.  They had all kinds of activities planned, gave us the whole bottom floor to call home and gave us down time, good food, and lots of game-playing opportunities.

On the 4th of July we had breakfast on their terrace and watched as the annual gathering of neighborhood families progressed at the park across the street.  Just like when I was a child they decorated bikes, tricycles, wagons, etc. with crepe paper.  The kids all had on their patriotic color and clothes.  Normally these children are led by the local fire truck, but all fire equipment was pressed into service battling the many fires that were plaguing Denver area fires.   (So sad to see).

We spent a day in Canon City, South of Denver,  where Mike and Victor rafted the Arkansas River through Royal Gorge and Yolanda and I took a lunch train ride through the same spot. We saw them both as we were going thru and then when the train was returning. The water level was not as high as normal so the promised 4 & 5 rapids disappointed a bit. Our train and lunch were no doubt overpriced, but it was fun anyway and one of those things you are glad you did!

Mike and Victor getting ready for their rafting adventure.

Yolanda and Adele set to board the train through the Gorge

Our waiter takes orders.  This table of ladies had fun by ordering one of every kind of wine offered on the menu (made at the local abbey winery)

The highlight of our dinners was the salad and an amazing three-chocolate mousse dessert.

Here we go!

At this point the gorge is so narrow that the railroad is suspended on a bridge so that there is ample room for the river to flow through.  Looking upward there is this other bridge which doesn't lead anywhere actually!  It is there just to span the gorge and is now a tourist destination complete with gondola and zip lines, etc.  (all new since our initial visit to the bridge many years ago).

Look!  There they are!  (On one of the trip stops for people to swim and jump off rocks).  Victor is in the orange swimming trucks lying in sunbathing/nap mode in the front raft and Mike is the one to the right, waving at us.

We passed several groups of rafters.  The water was so low that in the spot where the train stops before reversing course to coast back to Canon City many of the rafts were caught on sand bars!

In this photo you can see the remnants of the large aquaduct which lined the gorge.  A wooden tube flowed the entire length to bring the water.

Yolanda and I finished first so we inspected the town and the Abbey and bought flavored popcorn before we returned to the spot to pick up our river rafters again.

Holy Cross Abbey and Winery

After we left our adventures in Canon City, Bryants took us to their favorite time-share spot at Breckenridge ski resort.  It was gloriously beautiful!  Green, fresh from rain, cool and nicely appointed.  We all wished we could have stayed longer.  It was a bonus that there was an art fair going on in town at the same time so we enjoyed some amazing creativity.

The view from our balcony.  I can never get enough trees!   Love it, love it!

Yolanda and Mike at the Art Fair

Hmmm.   I'll take two please.  Just stick 'em in the back of the car.

This basket is carved wood with a rim of pine needles and sliced walnut shells.  How do they DO these kinds of things??

More use of natural fibers.  Colorado's artists are big into "green" artistry.

No wonder this is becoming the favorite skiier's haven in Colorado!

A flower you've never seen the likes of before deserves to have its picture taken!!

We could have stayed in Breckinridge forever and enjoyed their fun shops, beautiful sculptures and gardens - and GIANT cookies....but alas....we needed to head for home to get ready for Sunday.

     Sunday was "family day" for us (and a day to let our hosts have a break from hosting!)

My nephew Nathan Hunt and his family live in Ft. Collins, just north of Denver, so we accepted the invitation to go to Church with them and have their traditional after-church pancakes.  We are so happy for this family that Nathan's podiatry schooling and residencies are finished and that they are settled in their new home.  

     The recently-annnounced Ft. Collins temple will be built on the lot that joins their ward house.  They are also closer at last to Beth's parents in Wyoming so that makes them happy too.  Nathan specializes in foot problems of diabetics.  I think that is a contribution that is greatly needed.

Nathan Andrew Hunt is the oldest child of my step-brother, Steve. 

Our son, Nathan Andrew Austin, shares his name.

I have always admired Beth.  She is amazing with numbers (a former math teacher), a great mom, homemaker, and a hilarious blogger. (And she makes a mean pancake!)   Their children seemed to adopt us right into their home and we loved the short time we got to visit with them.  It warms your heart when a child is willing to climb into your lap and show you their world.

Nathan and Beth with their "alphabet" kids:  Andrew, Bryn, Caitlin, Diana, Edwin

Thank you, guys, for a heart-warming day!

     Upon our return to Centennial we had long enough to freshen up a bit and then were off to meet and visit with a distant Forsgren/Davis cousin.  It was providence, I think, that led me to be reviewing a line of the Christina Erika Davis genealogy and to realize that Randy Alder lives in Centennial and that we would be in the same city during this visit.  Not only the same city, but Randy lives in the adjoining Stake, less than 2 miles from the Bryant's home.   Randy was able to supply me with some much-coveted photos and discussed with me the difficult life of his grandmother who had been in a post-manifesto polygamous marriage.   NOT a happy time for her large family.  To her goes great credit for keeping her family together when she eventually divorced Ruel Alder.  Randy had a photo of him that I had hoped we could find somewhere in the family.      Great end for me to a nice day!

     Time to draw our 3 week adventures to a close and get back to Vegas so Bishop Austin could appear again before his little flock!   We had one last day for sight-seeing.  Victor was disappointed to learn the art museum he wanted to visit is closed on Mondays, so at Yolanda's suggestion we traveled out to Boulder, Colorado (amid a horrendous downpour) to the Celestial Seasonings (Tea) Factory.  

     The tour is by small groups so were given a "Teekit" (a single serve sealed package of peppermint Herb Tea) to hold our place in the next group.  While we waited we tasted samples of their over 100 different flavors of teas - 3/4 of which are herbal.  They also have a little art gallery produced by various people depicting their various flavors.   That was great fun.

Cherry/raspberry tea

Gingerbread Spice Tea

 Course I can't remember the name of this painting or which tea it represented

This was one of my favorites.  Where most of the others were painted, this one was all bead work - depicting a citrus blend tea.

The dress, shoes and evening bag are made entirely of Celestial Seasonings Tea Packet bags!

Our tour began. Victor made a great fashion statement with the hair nets required as you walk thru the plant.

     Very memorable were the two "closed" rooms.  The first is where they store the black and green tea leaves  - the caffeinated ones.  They have to be kept apart so that they don't absorb the aromas of all the other leaves.   Second was the Mint Room.  Goodness!  The strength of the odor in there made our eyes water and throats constrict.  Mint contains menthol...and the odor is so strong it will affect the flavor of all the other things around it.  

     It was a nice afternoon.  After leaving the plant we drove on into Boulder because I wanted to see the University of Colorado.  While I worked in the Interlibrary Loan office at BYU I borrowe a LOT of books from this university for scholars who were working on research papers and master's theses.  it is a beautiful school.  But I understand it is also quite a liberal school and I felt that as I looked at the students in town.   Medical Marijuana is legal there, but we happened to park out in front of a place that had a sign informing people that it was available there.  Several of the people we saw going into the shop didn't seem very "sick."   

     We had a nice pasta lunch at an open-air eatery (Pizza Joeys I think it was called) and it was nice to just people watch and have the quiet time before heading back to Denver.

Farewell, Colorado!   You delighted us with the awesome sights along Hiway 70, your fresh air and wonderful rain storms.   So sorry the rains couldn't have come a little sooner to help out with the devastating fires near Colorado Springs.  The blackened earth we saw on our way to Canon City renewed our feelings of compassion to all those who lost homes there.   

Just yesterday we heard of yet another disaster to this beautiful state - the massacre in Aurora by the gunman who opened fire on innocent movie goers!     Our hearts are heavy for this craziness.